Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1887-05-08

promise NE to protect Bessie IL any occasion
for il should arise. l do not know that it
will, but it might. Will you promise?"
''Of course I will; I would do a great
deal more than that if You asked me to,
Jess" he answered, tenderly, for now that
she was going away he felt curiously
drawn towards her, and was anxious to
show it.
''Neyer mind me" she said, with ar i'm
little movement, Bessie is sweet
enough and lovely enoughtO belOOked after
for her OWL sake, l should think"
Before he could say any more, in came
Bessie herself, saying that the driver was
waiting, and they went out to see her sis
ter off.
Don't forget your promise" Jess whiS-
pered TO him, bending down as he helped
her into the cart, so low that her lips al
mos touched him and her breath rested
for a second on his cheek like the ghost of
kiss.
In another moment the sisters had en-
braced each other tendCrly enough; the
driver had sounded once more Oh his aw-
full bugle, and away went the cart At full
gallon, bearing with it Jess, two other
passengers, and her majesty's mails. John
and Bessie stood for a moment watching its
mad career, as it went splashinG and bang
ing down the struggling street towards
the wide plains beyond, and then
turned to enter the inn again
and prepare for their home
ward drive. As they did so, an old BOer,
named Hans COetzee, with whom John was
already slightly acquainted, came up, and,
extending an enormously big and thick
hand, bid them ''GoOden daag." Hans
Coetzee was q very favorable specimen of
the better sort of BOer, and really came
more or less up to the ideal picture that is
so often drawn of that ''simple pastoral
people" He was 4 very large, stout man,
with q fine open face and a pair of kindly
eyes. John, looking at him, guessed that
he could not weigh less than seventeen
stone, and he was well within the mark at
that.
Chow are you, Captein?' he said in Eng
fish, for he could talk English well, land
how do you like the Transvaal?-must not
call it South African Republic now, you
know, for that's treason" and his eye
twinkled merrily.
81 like il very much, meinheer," said
John.
"Ah, yes, it's q beautiful veldt, espcci-
ally about here-no horse sickness, no blue
tongue and q good strong ,gra's for the
cattle. And you must find yourself very
snug at On (Uncle) CrOit's there; it's the
incest place in the district, with the os-
trichcs and all. Not that | hold with os-
triches in this vcldt; they are well enough
in the Old Colony, but they won't breed
here-at least, not rs they should do. ]
tried them once and | know; oh, yes, ]
know"
"Ycs, it's Il very fine country, meinhccr.
| have been all over the world almost, ana
[ never saw a finer"
"You don't say SO, now! Almighty,
what q thing it is to nave Travelled
Not that | should like To travel
myself. | think that the Lord
meant us to stop in the place he has
made for us. But it is 4 fine country and
dropping his voice ~ think it lisa finer
country than it used to be-"
"YOu mean that the veldt has got
tame meinheer.o
''Nay, nay. mean that the land is
English now" he answered, mysterious
ly, 'and though dare not say so among
my volk, l hope that it will keep English.
When | was Republican, | was Republican,
and it was good in some ways, the rcpuh-
lie. There was so little TO pay i'll taxes,
and we knew how to manage the black
volk; but now | am English, ! am En-
ulish. | know the English government
means good money and safety, and if
there isn't a RGd ~(assembly) now,
we'll, what does It matter? Al
mighty. how they used to talk there =
clack, clack, clack Just like M old black
koran species of hustard) AZ sunset. And
where did they run the wagon of the re-
public ~to-Burger5 and those Id Hol-
landtrs OF his, and the rest OF them ?
Why, into the sluit-intO a SLUT with
peaty banks; and there it would have
stopped till now, or till the flood came
down and swept it away, if old Shepstonc
-ah what a tongue that man has. and
how fond lie is of the kinderchictS little
children)-had not come and pulled
it out again. Bat look here,
Captein, the vOlk round here
don't think Ike that. It's the 'vcrdOmde
Britische Government here and the 'ver-
domde Britische Government there, and
'b~ymakaars' meetings here and 'bymak-
aars' there. Silly volk, they all run one
after the other like sheep. But there it is,
Captein, and | tell you there will be fight
Ing before long, and then II people will
shoot those poor ]roOibaatics red Jackets
of yours like buck and take the land back.
Poor things! ! could weep wnen | think Of
it,"
John smiled at this melancholy proGnoS~
tication, and was about to explain what 4
Door show all the Beers in the Trlnsyaal
would make in front of q few British regi-
ments, when he was aStOniShed by a sud
den change in his friends manner. Drop
ping his enormous paw on to his shoulder,
COetZge broke into a burst Of somewhat
forced mcrrimcnt, the cause of which wa,
though John did not guess it at the mo-
mcnt, that he had just perceived Frank
Muller. who was in WakkerstrOom with q
wagon load of corn to grind ut the mill,
standing within five yards, and apparently
intensely interested in Tipping at the flies
with a cowrie made of the tail of a wilder
beeste, hut in reality listening to Coetzec's
talk with all his ears.
Ella, ha! 'nef" nephew, said old
Coetzec to the astOniShcd JOhu, mo won
der you like Observation-Disclosures are other
mooi l~pretty) things there besides the wa
ter. How often do you opsit lsit ut night
with Uncle Crolt's pretty girl, eh? I'm
not quite as blind rs an ant bear yet. |
saw her blush when yOu spoke to her Just
now. | saw her. Well, well, it is a pretty
pretty game fora young man, %isn'tit, 'nei''
Frank" (thiS was addressed To Muller.
'Ill be bound the Captein here 'b~urnSalohg
candle with pretty Bessieeyer night-eh,
Frank? hope you amt jealous, 'nef'?
nv vrouw told me some time ago that you
were sweet in that direction YOURSELF aud
he stopped at last, out of breath, and look
ed anXiously towOrd Muller for IN answer
while John, who had been somewhat
overwhelmed at this flow of bucolic chat,
gave n sigh of relief. As for Mailer, he
behaved himcclr in 4 curious manner. In
stead of laughing, rs the jolly old Rocr had
intended that he should, he had, although
Coetzee could not see it, beer turning
blacker and blackcr; and now that the